Football

The final round of the Namibia Premier League will take place on Sunday, May 26 after a meeting held by the NPL board on Tuesday night.

According to a source the decision was taken due to financial considerations since the main sponsor of the Namibia Premier League, MTC will only pay the teams till the end of May.

The NPL was requested by the Namibian government to postpone their matches since the African Union 50th anniversary celebrations are taking place at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday May 25.

The Namibia Football Association (NFA) joins in the celebration of the African Union (AU) 50th Jubilee Celebration this weekend as they host Zambia with two international matches at the famous Sam Nujoma Stadium.

The African continent is celebrating 50 years of the OAU/AU’s formation and during this year’s Africa Day celebration, the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sports and Culture was nominated to chair the Cultural and Sports events. 

Brave Warriors coach Roger Palmgren said Namibia’s players’ fitness levels were a disgrace when he announced the squad that will play Zambia in a friendly match at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday.

Palmgren said the fitness levels of the players needed to improve drastically.

“The players underwent a fitness test (by a biokineticist) at the end of March and the results were a disgrace. The fitness levels were not good enough and we will have to work on that,” he said.

Equatorial Guinea has been named as the replacement for Tanzania in the COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013 field after the latter were forced to withdraw.


The Taifa Stars became ineligible for the tournament as it clashed with a revised date for their African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier against Uganda in July.

The East African nation was set to make their second visit to the Southern African regional championship that runs from July 6-20 after appearing in the inaugural tournament in 1997.

Brave Warriors coach Roger Palmgren named a 27-man squad for a friendly match against Zambia in Windhoek on Saturday, May 25.

Rundu Chiefs’ young goalkeeper Edward Maova and Tigers striker Panduleni Nekundi have been called up for the first time while several other players have been recalled to the squad after prolonged absences.

Black Africa and African Stars played to a thrilling draw in front of a near capacity crowd at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday night.

Although there were no goals there was plenty of excitement as both sides played attacking soccer and had numerous chances to find the net.

BA keeper Arnold Subeb pulled off a great diving save from a Freedom Puriza cracker on 28m, tipping the ball over the bar.

Black Africa came close on 35m when a Denzil Haoseb freekick hit the upright and Muna Katupose scored from the rebound but he was ruled offside.

COSAFA has announced a venue change for the COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013 with the exciting addition of Kitwe to join Ndola and Lusaka for the tournament that runs from July 6-20.

Kabwe was initially scheduled to be the third venue for the prestigious regional competition, but logistical challenges in upgrading the stadium to the required standard for the competition have meant it has been withdrawn.

But that allows the city of Kitwe to be added to the schedule, joining Ndola as a venue in the north of the country.

Tigers beat Orlando Pirates 2-1 in an exciting Premier league match on Friday evening.

Panduleni Nekundi put Tigers ahead on 9m when he headed home a cross by Pineas Jacob but Gustav Isaak equalised with a great volley early in the second half.

Benson Shilongo however secured Tigers’ victory when he pounced onto a goalkeeping error by Helmut Maletsky on 63m to put the loose ball into the net.

The result saw Tigers and Pirates swopping places on the log with Tigers moving up to third on 35 points, while Pirates dropped down to fourth on 34 points.

The biggest soccer match of the year takes place on Saturday when Black Africa and African Stars lock horns at the Sam Nujoma Stadium.

Not only will the match in all likelihood determine the outcome of the 2012/13 Namibia Premier League title, but it will also lay down a marker in the struggle for Namibian soccer supremacy.

In recent years Black Africa and African Stars have emerged as the powerhouses of Namibian football, with Stars winning the title for two consecutive seasons from 2008 to 2010 and Black Africa winning twice in a row from 2010 to 2012.

Windhoek United and Blue Boys remain the pace setters in the Southern Stream First Division, having opened up a sizable gap on the rest of the field, following last weekend’s Round 17 matches.

Windhoek United beat Unam 1-0 on May 11 after a first half penalty by Thomas Nakale, while they were held to a 1-1 draw by Bee Bob Brothers in Mariental the next day.

They remain at the top of the log on 36 points from 17 matches - one point ahead of Blue Boys, who also collected four points over the weekend.